1 nomination from readers

• There are over 6 million committed carers in the UK today. The care they provide saves the NHS an estimated £57 billion each year. Yet their work is largely unrecognised and unrewarded. Many carers suffer poverty, ill health and discrimination due to the financial and time demands of caring.

  Carers UK is committed to making the voice of carers heard in society. The organisation harnesses new media technologies as a critical tool in its work. As carers are frequently isolated, the organisation uses its website to bring together a carers movement, provide opportunities for carers to campaign, and showcase the real issues affecting carers today. The site also acts as a one-stop shop with essential information for new carers on financial support and rights, and peer support via forums.

  Recognising that carers have limited time and money, the site is clear and to the point, and is designed to download quickly for dial-up connections and be readable on older browsers. Visitors move quickly to simple, straightforward surveys on their experiences of caring and fast sign-ups to take part in public campaigns.

  In using its website as a two-way communications channel, Carers UK makes its campaign messages hit home. The 2005 Back Me Up campaign highlighted the lack of support for carers in emergencies, making use of the website to survey the extent of the problem, present media case studies, and providing resources for carers to campaign locally. By the end of 2006 the number of emergency support schemes for carers had almost doubled, and in November 2006 government announced an extra £25 million specifically to provide emergency support to carers in a crisis.

  Current homepage campaign highlights are focused on improving financial support for carers (by lobbying Gordon Brown) and influencing the National Strategy for Carers (through consultation meetings with ministers).

  Nominated by Kate Huntington, 31 May 2007